Becka Watkins

WHY
There are so many ways to look at things, maybe that is why I rotate my canvas when I paint. I use mixed media and acrylics to add layers. I begin with the movement of paint across canvas, sometimes blending and smearing colors with my fingers. Shapes and textures form, and images are revealed to me. A final piece often has 2-3 paintings underneath; each one a different story, emotion or interaction with the world that I am trying to process. With each creation, I feel the struggle of the human spirit; to let go, be free, to play without boundaries verses the constraints of needing to control the details of life, interactions and the manners for which we accomplish things. Within each piece there is a duality of this act of letting go and the need for control. -Becka

HOW
I am either trying to control things or totally letting go. I paint with my fingers, tools, and brushes. I pour, smear, smack, scratch, sand, remove, peel, press, and adhere paint and materials atop stretched canvas. With precision, I also paint controlled lines, outlining images I find within the textures and materials. I then like to take paintings out of their traditional setting; either chop them up, paint over them repeatedly, or destroy and put them ...

My Artrepreneur Program, Idaho Commission on the Arts, 2019 
Registered Nurse, Everest College Phoenix, AZ, A.A. Nursing, 2011
Bachelors of Arts in Creative Writing, California State University East Bay, CA, 2004
Occupational Therapy Assistant, Sacramento City College, CA, A.A., 1999

2021 Idaho Penitentiary, Boise, Idaho
2021 Fountain Square, Meridian, Idaho
2021 Riverside Hotel, Boise Idaho
2021 Fine Art Eagle Art Walk, Boise, Idaho
2021 Surrel’s Place, Greenbelt, Boise, Idaho
2021 Initial Point Gallery, Meridian, Idaho
2021 Riverside Art Show, Boise, Idaho
2020 TVAA, Driving and Beyond, Oregon
2020 Boise Open Studios Collective Organization, Boise, Idaho
2020 Pettitt Group Ridge to Rivers, Boise, Idaho
2020 Riverside Hotel, Boise, Idaho
2019 Boise Contemporary Theatre, Boise, Idaho
2019 Boise Open Studios Collective Organization, Boise, Idaho
2019 LandTrust Auction, Boise, Idaho
2019 UpCycle, Boise, Idaho
2019 Pettitt Group, Boise, Idaho
2019 Surrel’s Place, Garden City, Idaho 
2019 Art and Soul of Magic Valley, Twin Falls, Idaho 
2018 Fact, Fiction, Lies, Boise, Idaho 
2018 Boise Open Studios Collective Organization, Boise Idaho 
2018 Riverside Hotel, Boise Idaho 
2017 Handelbar, Boise, Idaho
2016 St. Lukes Hospital, Boise, Idaho 
2016 Boise Open Studios, Boise Idaho Visual Arts
2014 The Crux, solo exhibition, Boise Idaho